The present invention relates generally to the field of entertainment. More specifically, the present invention is a system and method of detecting and thwarting the use of unauthorized imaging systems at theatrical performances.
Entertainment is a multibillion-dollar business. Movies, plays, and concerts represent investments that have both a time value and an intellectual property value. The time value of an entertainment asset is usually very high, but reflects the reality that over time the demand for an entertainment asset will decline as access to the asset increases or as competition from other entertainment assets increases. For example, a movie is most valuable when it is first released to theaters and the potential audience is exposed to advertising and hype about the movie. The movie declines in value over time as the audience has viewed the movie and as other movies are released.
Entertainment assets also have an intellectual property value. A movie, for example, that has completed its theater run has potential value as a video for sale or rental purposes. The movie is a copyrighted asset and that asset can be sold or licensed. Similarly, a live performance has its own copyright that is highly valuable and requires protection.
Increasingly, entertainment assets are subject to piracy. Theaters and other venues that admit patrons to movies, concerts, and plays forbid the motion picture filming, video recording or still photograph recording of performances. However, it is difficult to police such conditions of admission. Finding a video camera or other imaging system in a large, dark theater is a significant challenge. Additionally, imaging systems may be concealed and the video content and audio content of the theatrical performance transmitted to a location that is external to the venue where the performance is taking place. It is also the case that within days or even hours of the release of a new movie, pirated copies of varying quality are available for sale on the street. Such copies are frequently the result of an unscrupulous individual taking a video camera into the theater and simply filming or recording the movie. Copies can then be rapidly made in a “boiler room” environment and sold on the street. And this does not only apply to movies. Live concerts and performances are equally protected by the copyright laws and, unfortunately, are equally as vulnerable to this form of pirating. Additionally, a still camera can image a performer in concert even when such taking of pictures is prohibited. What is needed is a means of detecting, locating and/or thwarting the use of an imaging system that is being used to surreptitiously record a theatrical performance.